Sunitha Murthy's Happiest Moment!!

I have been away from blogging these days and I have lots of reason for that and will be away for few more days. Just popped in to share a sweet moment that my blog reader Sunitha Murthy mailed me as an entry for 'Mother's Day Party & Giveaway' .  I have extended the last date of the giveaway to 20th June as I'll be away from blogging, please bear with me :) Read on what Sunitha has shared about proud Mommy moment.

'We will generally buy Bisleri 20lt can for drinking and my husband will keep the can in my kitchen as we don't feel like allowing strangers inside. My husband was out of station, so I was trying to lift the can and place it in my kitchen. Suddenly my son who is 4 yrs old told me to move and started rolling the can on the floor and kept it in the kitchen. It was my most happiest moment and I realized that my son was growing older.'

That's indeed a proud moment and sweet memory to cherish. Thank you so much Sunitha for sharing such a sweet moment with us.
Dear readers if you also want to share such lovely memories then simply write me at designdecoranddisha@gmail.com or just blog about it and link it here.

Linking this to 'Mother's Day Party & Giveaway' on behalf of Sunitha.

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The Traveling Chairs ...

Not too long ago, I scooped up these awesome chairs from World Market, knowing that they'd be perfect in our SITTING room! 

TA DAAAAAA!  Don't they look great in our DINING room?  LOL ... oops, sitting room ... please don't be too upset!

You know you've been there ... buying a piece you know would be perfect in a certain spot, only to get it/them home and place it/them somewhere else instead!  

They really are rather fun in here ... love the texture they add:

They're super comfy, especially with added pillows perched on them that match our new curtains!  

While you're in here, you can see our buffet with its simple vignette:

To tie in with the mustard yellow in the print on the sideboard, I added a yellow plate (had on hand) to two of our floating shelves:

Chunky candlesticks that used to be bronze were painted with both Old White (Annie Sloane) and Smoky Mountain (CeCe):

There, that's better!

I also pulled a couple of platters I had tucked away and placed them on the wall in the corner:

While I LOVE our new chairs in the dining room, I have a feeling they'll be traveling all over our house, including our sitting room someday!

Don't you just love your pieces that travel, too?

Thanks for stopping by,

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Cute Owl & Pigs!

 


Just a quick baby gift...




Inspiration was the cute owl bedding chosen by the mommy from Baby's r us.




 



 Stool purchased unfinished at Hobby Lobby.


 I hope baby Simon likes it!

Then an old high school friend asked me to paint a third rocker for her third granddaughter. She gave me information like, cute pigs, and flowers.

















 I hope that Josi gets a lot of

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Cute Teacup Light

 
Let's make this cute

Teacup Light!


It is easy to do once you have mastered drilling china with a diamond ceramic drill bit.


You can find tutorials on the web for that.

Next...



You will need to purchase a candle bulb light kit like this...



And have your drilled teacup and saucer like this...


Then just unscrew the light kit, following the package directions, and thread the cord

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Hanging Map Light!

What a cool and fun project this was...



And so easy to do!



Here's how I did it...



My daughter moved out of state and when she left our rental house, she left this behind...


A simple paper shade.  Now I can't take credit for what I am about to show you because I saw it somewhere...I just don't remember where!

Knowing me, I didn't want to throw away a good paper lantern, so I got out

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My Never Ending Crush on Coastal ...

ALL of my life, I've loved the ocean ... not going IN it, necessarily (although, I'd spend hours in it when I was little), but, just how it makes me feel ... the smell of the ocean air ... the roar of the waves ... and the noise of the seagulls hunting for a snack.  It always brings back great memories of my sisters and me when we would vacation at the beach when we were young ... throwing sand at each other ... pushing each other on rafts directly into the crest of the waves so that we'd go crashing down onto the shoreline ... waiting to hear the sound of the ice cream truck ... and, enjoying fresh corn on the cob while sitting on the deck, listening to Carly Simon and Carole King.

That's why I'm so thankful I get to LIVE by the beach ... even though we don't stick our toes in the sand nearly enough, just "knowing" it's a few miles down the road makes me happy!

I suppose that's why I love adding coastal accents to our home, with our mantel being no exception.  When I spotted this pretty piece at Home Goods, I  just knew it'd be the perfect focal point for our coastal mantel:

This cute shore bird just "had" to fly the coop at Big Lots and come home with me.  He loves being perched by our mercury-based hurricane filled with sand and simple pillar candle:

Glass floats wrapped in twine (from Pottery Barn) joined the gang, too:

As did this piece of coral I had on hand:

Little starfish (also from Pottery Barn) are so easy to scatter around ... and, little mercury votive holders tie in with our hurricanes:

As I wasn't quite ready to let go of the white dogwood branches I had in place for our Spring mantel, I simply added Manzanita branches to them to give them a little "coastal" feel, too:

It all came together to look like this ...

Just a simple coastal mantel that, when I look at it, brings back great beach memories of my childhood and those that my family and I have yet to make:

So ... do memories from your childhood have an effect on your decorating styles?  Apparently, they do with mine!

I'm off to party here:

Savvy Southern Style/WUW
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
No Minimalist Here/Open House Party

Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by,

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My Master BathRoom Update!

Some of my reader's may remember my long ago post on my master bathroom.


About six years ago, when I first met my Young-and-Cute, Handy-Dandy-Handyman Trent, together we gutted my carpeted, huge garden tub and single sink master bathroom for a more functional and timeless style that it is today.


However, we didn't do one thing...


Let's start from the beginning, shall we?




Our master

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Inspiring Eminent Blogger: Chris Emmert

Meet wonderful mosaic artist Chris Emmert today. I truly love and admire her art work. Read on to know more about Chris and her exquisite art work.

Welcome Chris, I am happy to have you here on Design Decor & Disha. Please introduce yourself.

I am a self-taught artist and have been creating many forms of arts and crafts for most of my life, but mixed-media mosaics are my passion! I enjoy using found objects and intriguing bits in creating a visually appealing piece of art……and ROCKS!~!!!

Upcycled Planter made by Chris

When and how you realized your passion about Mosaic Art.

I had a coffee shop that I sold in 2007 so I could focus on my art. I started listing on Etsy in September of  2010. Sales were slow to start but have steadily increased since.

Tell us when your artwork started getting recognized and you stepped into this business.

I do mostly garden stones and pet memorials that are very unique. By 2013 my name is becoming recognized and I get requests for custom rocks.

Garden Rock  done by Chris

What are the tools and materials you use for mosaic art and please share some tips for beginners.

In 98’ when I was making all the tables for my coffee shop, I did one in mosaic with broken up coffee cups. I used a hammer not knowing that there were special tools that make it easy to cut up pottery and glass. When I got my first pair of wheeled nippers I was in heaven.

Mosaic art on wine glass

How many mediums you have worked on. Which one is easy to work with.

Mosaics can be done on any surface. Around my house nothing is sacred. I just finished the guest

bathroom where I covered the sink in pebbles.

Mosaic art done by Chris in her Guest Bathroom

Which one is your favorite art piece and why.

My piece “Durango” is my all time favorite, mainly because of all the recycled materials I used in it.

Here is Durango

What other than mosaic art excites you.

I give rocks workshops and it’s so much fun to see my students get excited!!!!

Mosaic Mirror

Please share the links where we can find your Art work and where my blog readers can get connected with you.

http://ChrisEmmert.com
https://www.facebook.com/ChrisEmmertMosaic
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisemmert
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChrisEmmertMosaic
http://www.etsy.com/shop/AllAboutTheParty

Which blogs or web sites inspire you and you love to visit them regularly.

This is SAMA The Society of American Mosaic Artists, and I was able to attend the conference for the first time this year in Tacoma WA . It was so awesome meeting fellow artists and taking a few classes.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks a lot Chris for taking some time out to share about you and your art and being with us virtually.
I found Mosaic art such a beautiful art form and Chris has inspired me enough to create one art piece by my own, though I didn't have all the supplies available but I tried my best to give it a mosaic like look.

Have a wonderful weekend friends, have creative one!!

Check out other interviews under Inspiring Eminent Bloggers here.

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Gold and Glass ... Who Knew?

Happy Saturday, friends.

My husband often jokes with me by saying that he's glad that my taste in men doesn't change as much as my taste in decorating styles does!  Ha!  Poor man ... the things he has to put up with being married to me ... mainly, my decorating addiction, especially how often things change around here!

The latest tweaks taking place in our great room have revealed that, apparently, out of nowhere, I'm now a big fan of gold and glass coffee tables!  Who knew?!  Annnd, that's when I decided we simply had to move our heavy, dark coffee table out and make room for a gold and glass beauty!  Alas, the search began ....

I fell in love with this one from Ethan Allen, but, for over $700, sadly, I had to pass:

This one from Uttermost is gorgeous (especially the gallery shelf below)  but, again ... with a price tag of over $500, that's still a bit too high.

I scoured Craiglist for days ... no luck!  Goodness, this was becoming a bit of a challenge ....

THAT'S when I came across this *pretty* from Wal-Mart for only $99 (free shipping, too, when you "site to store")!  

But, wait ... I know you're thinking "um, Becca ... it's not gold!"  You're absolutely right!  Alas, nooooo worries ... that's where a can of *this* from Lowe's saved the day: 

A few coats later, and here's a peek at what it looks like now!

Wooo Hooo ... JUST what I had hoped for!  Don't you just love it when you can get the look you want, without paying the hefty price?! 

I'll be back soon to share more of the little changes in here, including our "coastal" mantel:

Have a great day ... thanks for stopping by,

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CopyCat Art

I can not take credit for this design. Credit goes to Doreen's blog of Hymns and Verses! When I first saw her tutorial on a Valentine's canvas HERE, where she actually gives the templates to use, I knew that this would be the perfect wedding gift to my daughter's dear friend. This is the one that Doreen made and shared...




I wanted to make my own spin on this by adding color first to the

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New Paint Means New Chandie!

Happy Monday, friends!

Not too long ago, I shared how I painted the inside of our front door black.  Such a quick, inexpensive project that really made a difference (love those kinds of projects, don't you)?  

Of course, that "freebie" project then led to a "not so free" project (oops).  Our foyer chandie, which was brown metal with stained glass in shades of purples, greens and reds just didn't work anymore (sorry I don't have a before pic) ... actually, it hadn't worked for some time, but it was one of those projects we simply put off ... for 6 years!

Thanks to Home Depot, our foyer got a new chandie ... the price was right, too, which made it even "more" appealing!  Love its simplistic style:

While playing around in this small space, I then decided to wash a bit of grey onto the white urns:

I wanted them to tie in with the new panels in both the sitting and dining rooms: 

I then brought back our larger rug that has the mustard/gold yellows (like our new fabric), with flecks of black here and there:

Of course, I'm a big fan of dressing doors with simple tassels, too!

I love how the new chandie ties in with our front door!  Annnd, while you're here, you can also see how I used the same fabric in our sitting and dining rooms, which makes my little symmetrical self a happy girl. 

I hope you all have a happy week.  I'm off to continue making a few changes in our great room ... starting with the addition of this beautiful seagrass rug ... LOVE!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Mother's Day Party & A Giveaway!!

First I would like to wish all the beautiful, lovely, hard working, devoted, caring and loving mommies all around the world a very happy Mother's Day!!!

Now I would like to wish a very beautiful women inside and out, who is my truest friend, who teaches me how to behave, who keeps pushing me to be better, who always motivates me, who teaches me to be true to myself, who is really a big part of me, who is everything to me, my love for her is inexplicable-

My MOTHER

Happy Mother's Day My Dearest Mom

Image: Mine

Now I have a great news I am hosting a 'Mother's Day Party and a Giveaway'. I want all the mommies and children out there to speak their heart out. Lets share your sweet/bitter memories and experiences of pregnancy and parenting. I have a big big surprise for one whose story will touch lot of hearts.

Mother's Day Party & Giveaway

Rules: 

1. Anyone blogger or non-blogger can participate in this giveaway.

2. Write about any sweet, bitter, funny, embarrassing moment or anything that brings back memories of time spent with your mother/kid, can be a picture or poem or just a sentence to express feelings will be considered as a valid entry. 

3. Bloggers can write post and publish it in their blog and link it by clicking on the link button at the end of the post. Non-bloggers can directly mail me their stories on designdecoranddisha@gmail.com and I will submit their post on behalf of them.

4. Party starts on 12th May 2013 and will end on 31st May 2013 announcement of winners will take place  on 2nd June.

5. First two entries have a change to win an assured gift. Yes you heard it right!! Post that will get highest number of votes will be a winner and the prize is a big surprise (will disclose little later)!!
6. Following this blog isn't mandatory but if you love reading this blog then following it will ensure that you will not miss any update.

Go get your lovely stories and share them here, party has begun :)

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Our Rental House Tour

We purchased this cute little shotgun house about 8 months ago from a builder friend that had it as a rental for 9 years.

Initially, we purchased it for our 22 year old daughter to live in and we put about another $10,000 in it.

She lived here for 7 months until a job took her out of state.

So now what do we do?

We took to opportunity to fix it up even more though it had been gutted

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Hometalk Always Inspires

Greetings, friends!

When this time of year rolls around, my ADD (Attention *Decorating* Disorder) kicks in ... in HIGH gear!  One of the projects I'm currently tackling is redoing my son's bathroom.  Of course that means turning to the amazing HOMETALK for inspiration!  And, what perfect timing when the fabulous Miriam (Hometalk's Director of Community Development), asked if I would curate an "Affordable Bathroom Decor" clipboard  to share with all of you (well, twist my arm, why don't ya' ... of *course* I would)!

So, when you have a moment, feel free to click on the picture below, which will take you right to my "Affordable Bathroom Decor" clipboard ... you might even *spy* your bathroom on there or someone else's that you know! 

There sure are a bunch of amazing folks out there who have shared crafty, affordable, creative (if not, genius) ideas when it comes to bathroom decor!  You just might want to implement an idea, or 10, in your humble abode, like I plan on doing!

And, if you've never toured around Hometalk, be sure and stay there while ... there are endless amounts of ideas and inspiration, no matter what your project is!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by ... and, a special thank you to Miriam for asking me to be a curator!

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